10 Ways to Staying Creative

Sometimes when it is your job to be creative it can become hard to keep those creative juices flowing and to keep on creating. There are so many things surrounding us with social media and the speed of life can make the creativity come to a halting stop. This can’t happen if you do this for a living and use your creativity to pay your bills. So I have put together some ideas that can help you keep the creativity flowing and stop the blockage.

You can do all of these or just a few of these, whatever works honestly! The most important thing is to release the creative block!

Pinterest: Of course this is my first one guys. Pinterest is the best thing that a creative professional could use. I can remember the day that one of my best friends from college sent me an invite to Pinterest. I was so enthralled by the website. This was something that we had done for years in Design school. We would go on google or websites and save images in a folder and create mood boards to spark ideas and set the course for a design. I was always battling for space on my computer and then here came Pinterest to save my hard drive space! Hallelujah!

Music: I read an article about what music does to our brain. (read it here) In this article it talks about how certain types of music can increase our creativity. We need to maybe step out of our “normal” playlist and experience some new music. Maybe even check out a band that is playing nearby and discover a new sound that could spark creativity!

“It turns out that a moderate noise level is the sweet spot for creativity. Even more than low noise levels, ambient noise apparently gets our creative juices flowing, and doesn’t put us off the way high levels of noise do.”

Never stop creating: Often times we get out of the habit of constantly creating because we are “having” to create for clients all the time. I am totally guilty of this! When we are creative professionals working to bring other peoples ideas of visions in to reality we can get stifled and dry up our own creative voice. That personal creativity is what makes us so good for our clients. We have to continue to create the things that we love and create just for fun and just to express what we want to say, so that we can continue that flow of creativity for other people. Sometimes that might mean using other mediums or doing a daily drawing challenge. Creativity can some times work like a muscle and when we stop letting our personal creative voice come out then we stop that flow.

Go back to the basics: Sometimes is might help to go back to the basics and practice the simple things. Piano players often play the scales even if they have been playing for many years. Illustrators should sketch simple sketches and keep the basics fresh in your mind. Sometimes the simple daily practices will stretch that creative muscle and stop the blockage that is keeping you from finishing that project.

Get some rest: I know I have been saying to create create and do daily practices. But when that is failing sometimes you just need to stop and take a break. Get outside, take a nap. Do something completely different to change the pace. Focus your mind on things that are calming and relaxing. Stress can be a main factor in stopping creativity and so sometimes you have to find a way to destress and relax. Take a rest.

Healthy Food/Habits: This isn’t a health and fitness blog, but we all know that creativity comes from the brain and heart and your brain needs nutrients to function. (I wish this meant coffee and tortilla chips were enough, then I would be set.) But it takes a little more than that. Sometimes we can get stressed and need to clean up our diet or add some cardio into our daily routine. Cardio gets your endorphins flowing and can really clear up your mind and spark creativity. I have taken up running. (I don’t do it as religiously as I should.) For some reason I can’t actually keep a schedule with running but when I am feeling the overwhelmed feeling of stress and watching my creativity dwindle then I get those running shoes out. So think of adding some cardio in or getting extra vitamins in your diet.

Research: If I am in the middle of a project I love visiting book stores. It really can help to see what others have done and look for ideas that help you see things you could do or adapt. Researching can spark ideas and help you pinpoint what you really need to finish the project you are currently stuck on.

Travel: This doesn’t have to mean that you have to travel across the world. This could just mean that you go to a new restaurant or a new store across town. Change of scenery always helps spark some creativity and open your mind to new things.

Have fun: Do something fun with the people that you love. When we hustle so much and build up the stress of the list of things we need to accomplish we miss out on the opportunities to enjoy our family and friends. These moments can sometimes spark the most creative ideas. Let’s not miss out on quality times with the people we love. They could give you the things you are looking for to stop the creative blockage you are facing.

Positive Thinking: Negative thinking just leads to negative things. We have to keep positive thinking. When you come to a moment where you are stopped in the road and not sure how to get over the hump, tell yourself “this too shall pass.” You will finish the project. You always find a way. It is a lie to think that you will fail or that you won’t make it, or that it won’t be good enough. If you are feeling down try some of the steps above to get yourself in to a positive mindset about your situation. Positive thinking leads to a positive life. We must find ways to stay positive and believe that we will make it through.

I understand that creative blockage can be frustrating but you will make it through. Creativity is a process and sometimes you just need to follow through the process and trust that you will make it to the end. Don’t allow doubt or negativity to make you believe anything other than you are great at what you do and you are a ery creative person. Creativity flows through you so just let it go and let it flow.

If you have any other tips that you use to stay creative please leave a COMMENT BELOW. I would love to hear your tips and thoughts on how to stay creative.

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Hey! I’m Emily Jean!

Hello! My name is Emily and welcome to my little corner. In the world of so many blogs I am honored you stopped over to mine. I hope you enjoy! My hope is to share as much as I can with you. I am a designer and a bit of a jane of all trades, so hopefully there is something that will enrich your life. Please click around, stay a while, and drop me a note and let me know you stopped by!